When you walk down to the water and see this, you want to be ready to go with a fly on. Who knows when you'll spot the next target?
With streams about to join lakes, estuaries and salt as options (and they already have in Tassie), time on the water is going to ramp up. With that in mind, a few fishing oversights lately have persuaded me to write one of those somewhat annoying (if ultimately useful) lists; as much for myself as for fellow flyfishers. In fact, you can probably hear the voice of bitter experience in some of the points below…
1. Always have a fly tied on before you get to the water. You might subsequently decide to change it, but at least you’re armed and dangerous if you have an immediate opportunity.
2. On a similar note, if you’re fishing with or near a mate, never change flies or gear simultaneously: at least one of you needs to be ready to go at all times.
3. If your phone rings or pings, stop fishing before you look at it or answer. The fish seem to know when you’re distracted. (And unless it’s your mate calling with some valuable intelligence, replying can probably wait until break time.)
4. Try to maintain a constant mental stocktake of consumables like flies, tippet, floatant, paste, indicators and so on. You don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere when you discover you’ve just put the last example of your current favourite fly up a tree; or on trophy water when you pull the final few centimetres of trusty 2X off the spool. So, at any given point in the season, whatever you’re in danger of running out of, make sure you stock up at the earliest opportunity. Carry some extra on the water, plus a reserve supply in the car.
That was close! Time to stock up.
5. Have sunscreen and insect repellent in the car or boat at all times. If you’re like me, you’ll forget all about both of them in the cooler months, and only remember when you’re on the water when it warms up and you suddenly need them again.
6. Dress to be comfortable, having researched the probable conditions on the water – NOT based on what it’s like at home! You need to be warm when it’s cold, dry when it’s wet, and – at least from spring equinox to autumn equinox – as cool and sun-smart as possible. Enthusiasm will only get you so far: uncomfortable flyfishers are distracted and also tend to quit too soon. I won’t even attempt to list all the options, but for me, when it’s cold, high on my list are a decent breathable rain jacket, good fingerless gloves, good headwear, and thermals. When it’s hot and/ or summer sunny, a broad-brim hat, quick-dry long sleeve shirt, fingerless sun gloves, and a water bottle on hand. Oh, and a buff is handy at any time: surprisingly warm when cold; and sun protection when UV is an issue. Keep one in your vest or pack at all times, or at the very least in your car.
Broad brim hat, clean polarised glasses, buff, and quick-dry long-sleeve shirt = summer comfort.(And of course a big net!)
7. Never go anywhere without your big, practical landing net, even when ‘just having a quick flick’.
8. Always carry good low light polarised glasses with clean lenses, on a strong strap so you don’t lose them. (Darker lenses won’t really work under cloudy conditions or early/ late in the day, when sighting fish remains just as valuable as under sunny skies.)
9. Whether wet or dry wading, you want comfy wading boots THAT LAST. And carry spare laces for the inevitable breakages.
10. Maintain quick online access to decent, real-time weather forecasts, and recent weather information. Likewise for water conditions: lake levels, stream heights and trends for both... plus flow or level forecasts if you can find them. And if you’re going to be unavoidably offline while away, seek, save and screenshot said information as close as possible to your trip dates. (For salt and estuary fishers, add tides, plus estuary mouth status: open or closed?)
